Hollenvik

Hanur did some research in Jurva and learned the following about the village:

It's a village of about six hundred people in the the northern part of the barony of Udvjor in Sormark. It has fallen on hard times after their Thane, Aesa Juulbro, died and the deed to the village disappeared. The Juulbro family had a long running feud with the Lonning family who own the village in the next valley; Forngaror. Ottar Lonning was murdered 27 years ago, his daughter Dagny succeeded him.

As the party enters town it is clear the bridge that crosses stream is in disrepair. The corn fields look poorly, the squash and beans have hardly grown. There doesn’t seem to be an inn, most of the buildings are residential, usually with their own garden plot and/or chicken coop. On the outskirts there are some other structures; a watchtower, a mill, a forge, warehouses, and farm buildings. There is something of a village center where a large General Store can be found.

The party wants to learn more about the village and they are directed to the General Store. The owner, Ida Egnell, a brusque woman in her fifties, is happy to tell our friends about the village. In her opinion everything went to shit when the Thane died, almost three decades ago. Ever since the three largest families (Nergaard, Stahl, and Ternheim) in Hollenvik have been at odds and refuse to cooperate, trying to undercut each other at every opportunity. And this has lead to the current state of affairs where the watchtower is falling apart, the well is hardly bringing up any water, and so on.

She also explains that since the Thane didn't have any heirs, a deed had been written up, whoever holds the deed is in essence the new Thane. However, the deed went missing when Aesa died and was never found. When Reb asks about what would happen should anyone show up with said deed, the store owner tells him that that person would then be the new Thane, that's just how things work.

She's a shrewd one and tells the party that should this deed happen to surface that she would be willing to trade for it. She is in the possession of a map that leads to a Balturian gardyl in the nearby mountains. According to her these places are treasure troves for the adventurous kind and her map is the only one. She was planning on selling it to the Tipatshimun but she is more than happy to trade it for this hypothetical deed.

When asked about a place for them to stay the night she points them to Hegibjorht Sonddahl. His daughter Smilla is marrying Einar Nergaard, he will be more than willing to put them up and make a little coin. The party buys some candy when they see all the kids outside, it turns out the prices at the store are quite high! Still, they get enough sweetmeats to distribute to all children.

Then they go and see about boarding at Hegibjorht Sonddahl. He is more than happy to accommodate them, he is less happy answering questions about the three families, and definitely won't commit to putting one above the others, even if his daughter is marrying a Nergaard. With that the party retires to their room and starts to discuss what to do.

All Hail the New Thane!

After a long deliberation where they weigh the pros and cons of claiming the village for themselves or selling it to Ida Egnell or one of the families, they decide to hold onto the deed. They want to see if they can't get Hollenvik back on track and make a profit doing so. They decide they each own a quarter of the deed but put Arosin up as the new Thane, him being a bard and all. When they go outside it turns out the secret is out, people seem to know about the deed having resurfaced.

“So, are you the new Thane now? All of you, or just one of you?” asks a man with half his teeth and all his hair missing as he hobbles up to the party. “Are you going to fix everything that’s falling apart?” a young boy inquires in passing, carrying two chickens by their necks. “How much are you going to tax us?” a blonde woman sharpening a scythe wants to know, “we haven’t two copper pieces to rub together.”

“What about the wolves?” a lanky figure in a purple-ish dress wants to know, “I lost so many chickens to them, and half that are left have stopped laying eggs from the fear alone.” “Forget about the wolves, what about those bugbears out there?” a young woman carrying two baskets calls out, “they’ve set up their camp near us for a reason, those brutes are just biding their time, one of these days they’ll come and ravish us, mind my words!”

The party tries to answer these questions and then some shows up with a formal invitation to dinner that night, courtesy of the Stahl family. Others then rush off and return, out of breath. The first to arrive is a Nergaard with an invite to dinner the next night, he looks smug as he hands the invite over. But then the Ternheim smiles and invites the party to breakfast the next morning.

Reb bought forty gallons of ale and starts to pour as more people assemble and the party gets to work winning hearts and minds. They sure learn about all the problems facing the village. Reb introduces himself to people as Reb, the warrior, Regius proclaims himself to be a deacon of Ulaa, Hanur is just Hanur, and Arosin is the Thane, of course.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

The party arrives at the Stahl family house. Everyone is dressed up in their fineries and the food is served on ‘the good plates’. Lyngheid, the family matriarch, is quite muscular, her skin on the dark side, signs of her many years working the forge. She is a widow as her husband, Spjälle, died last year. Her son Arnfast is the spitting image of his mother, though he and his wife Lovisa are farmers. Lyngheid’s daughter Fredrika is very blonde and very beautiful. Her other son, Fulbjorht, has a much slighter figure, he keeps the books for the extended family. Lyngheid’s youngest child is Njorna, she was something of a surprise and is only twelve years old.

Dinner starts out light and breezy, and the food is good, though it is clear that things aren’t great as one would have gotten a much bigger spread if the town was doing better. Soon enough the recriminations start being flung. How dare Throa Nergaard accuse her, Lyngheid, of stealing that bracelet? It was so gaudy she wouldn’t want to be found dead with it.

And now the Nergaards keep throwing rocks in the stream on their land and hardly any water flows to any of the other fields now. And the Ternheims return nowhere enough cornmeal for the amount of corn supplied, they must be skimming off the top and storing it somewhere. And just this month cousin Segol and aunt Berit have gotten really sick and nothing seems to be able to cure them, someone must have been praying to evil gods to put a spell on them.

After dinner Reb goes and climbs a warehouse to get the lay of the land and see what happens during the night time, no wolves show up tonight. The others are brought to the two sick family members. Regius makes a good show of restoring some of their hit points. The next morning he will return and remove their disease with a lesser restoration spell.

Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast?

The party goes to the Ternheim family home. Just like the Stahl’s the previous night, all the stops have been pulled out; and since they had longer to prepare the results are a step up. The food on offer looks anything but what one would typically find for breakfast here. The larder must have been raided for the sausages and bacon, chicken coops for a surprising amount of eggs, and they must have bought the remaining stock of fruit. The table is almost creaking under the assembled weight.

Patriarch, Ceolred, a long time widower sits at the head of the table. An accident at the mill years ago crushed his right arm but he eats adaptly with just his left. His daughter Anna is very blonde and very beautiful. Gothorm, his eldest son is in charge of the mill now, his wife Hedvig runs a small bakery. His other son, Thrand, is a jack of all trades, helping out anywhere the family needs him. Ceolred’s youngest daughter, Fjotra has been helping Thrand, looking to see what she might do in the future.

Everyone waits patiently for the party to take a bite or two of the food before letting fly with allegations. Ceolred’s head gets really red and he starts to shake when he recounts how Throa Nergaard dared to accused his late wife of stealing her bracelet.

Next they are on the whole rocks in the stream thing that was heard at the Stahl’s as well. Though the Ternheim’s certainly have their issues with the Stahl’s as well; anything they get from the forge is shoddy work, at best, how are they to run their farms with equipment like that?

Many Petitioners

Over the day a number of people come see the party with their requests.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Old Fingal the hermit has taken little Sigrid Ternheim’s kite. This the party manages to take care of right away.

In the Family Way

Njorna Westergren comes to complain; Valter Nergaard has gotten her daughter Anja pregnant but he isn’t taking responsibility for it.

Adonis

Edvin Skarsgard, who could be considered a perfect specimen of the human race, has a problem; Silje, Fredrika, and Anna all want him.

A Matter of Taste

Thrand Ternheim explains that while most people like white wine, some people like red wine. And unfortunately the white wine aficionados are not very accepting of red wine lovers. To put it more plainly, he and Fulbjorht Stahl are having a secret relationship and they are afraid of what will happen should anyone find out.

Ancev Ascending

Fjotra Ternheim has started worshipping Ancev. She wants to be the new village cleric but knows that the other two families wouldn’t accept her.

Work in Progress

During the day our friends start on their journey of improving the village and fixing the problems.

Reforge

Reb visits the forge where he learns that Lyngheid’s apprentice, her nephew Alrek, has been delivering shoddy work, unbeknownst to her. She promises she will take care of it.

Well, Well, Well

A large tree trunk has narrowed the well shaft and Hanur manages to use a saw and remove it. Even with it gone it's still too narrow for the half-orc to fit through. But Arosin definitely fits, so he is lowered down. There he finds the water level is about 20 cm and the bottom of the pool contains all kinds of detritus. Off to the side a number of rocks have gotten lodged and are blocking most of the water coming in. He manages to remove the rocks but is then blasted by the onrushing water and comes close to drowning.

Once most of the water is out, he follows the low tunnel to see where it leads. After about fifteen minutes he comes face to face with a multi-legged creature with a segmented, 10-foot-long body. Eight writhing tentacles protrude from its head, growing directly from below its clacking mandibles and toothfilled maw. A quick sleep spell doesn't do anything and the lucky bard manages to flee before the creature can attack him.

Axing the Right Questions

Lyngheid tells Reb who the best carpenters in town are and she lends him her axe, it's a beautiful piece and sharp too. The fighter takes a few people and a cart and goes to cut down some trees. He then instructs the villagers to use the wood to repair the watch tower at the edge of town. It's safe to assume that anything left can be used for the bridge.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Regurgitated?

Our friends go to the Nergaard family dwelling. You know the drill by now; fineries, lots of food, etc. The matriarch, Throa, and her husband, Joacim, a man of few words, play the consummate hosts. Their son, Svafnir and his wife Adeline run their largest farm. Their daughter Aesa is the overseer of all the family farms while her husband Fardhe and their twins run their farm. The other son, Einar, is about to be wed to Smilla Sonddahl. Youngest daughter Silje is very blonde and very beautiful.

If asked about the rocks in the stream their defense is simple; "it’s not a gods-damned rice field." Too much water ruins their crops, so what are they to do? And of course, they counter with the, by now well known, complaints against the other two families.

Regius manages to convince Throa to come to a meeting with Lyngheid and maybe Ceolred, where he will use a spell, zone of truth, to get to the bottom of the stolen bracelet.

New Day, More Progress

As the new day starts, our friends continue their work to improve the village. Ida Egnell also finds them again and now offers the location of the gardyl and a hundred gold pieces for the deed; the party declines for now.

Gnome to Meet You

A fuzzy, black cat enters the village, not much later followed by a gnome man who asks around, looking for our friends. He finds them soon enough and then asks if they are indeed Arosin, Hanur, Reb, and Regius. The party is rather surprised when asked for by name, they have never seen this fellow before. He claims that he read their names and the name Hollenvik in the book of a Lady Something, and was told the find them. He introduces himself as Harpin Falconhand.

Regius is quite suspicious and takes him back to their rooms, casting a Zone of Truth spell on him there. The gnome easily resists the spell and the half-orc then just grabs the small humanoid and starts to question him. Both the questions and answers are all over the place and at some point the conversation turns to bacon. However says he wants to help out and seems to intend no harm, so he comes along to their first order of business.

Bracelet Business

Throa Nergaard, Lyngheid Stahl, and Ceolred Ternheim are all brought together and Regius casts his second Zone of Truth spell of the day. Some smart questions by the Cleric and Harpin, who proves his worth, make it clear that no one present either stole the bracelet or knows of its whereabouts. This leaves Throa with nothing but to reluctantly admit that maybe the bracelet got lost, even though she maintains she is very careful and would never do such a thing. Once all is said and done, Harpin suggests they should make three new pieces of jewelry to mark this occasion.

Baby Daddy

Next they go and find Valter Nergaard to have a talk with him about Anja Westergren who he got pregnant. He doesn't deny the fact but laments that he is much too young to settle down, he didn't mean to get her pregnant. Our friends impress upon him that not only the village would not look favorably upon him, but also that he was with Anja for a reason, clearly he likes her. All of this and the party's new standing in town convince him to make things right.

Infrastructure Involvement

Reb leaves the others as they consider what to do with Edvin and goes to check on the watchtower. Things are progressing at pace and he decides that the remaining wood should be used for the bridge first, any creature comforts at the tower can wait. He then joins the villagers and help repair the bridge.

Let's Make Two Dates

Harpin and Regius invite Fulbjorht Stahl and Thrand Ternheim over. They tell the two men that they should not be worried about what the village will think, they should be proud of their relationship and own it. The gnome also tells the duo about his two fathers and how great they have it. All in all, the two decide that this is what they should do, it's also what they wanted to do all along.

After dinner the tavern is to play host to a 'dating game' that Regius and Harpin came up with. The three lovely ladies will be hidden behind a curtain and Edvin Skarsgard can then ask them questions, the answers of which will be given anonymously. This way he can pick the girl who suits him the most. They even sell this as an event with a 2 cp entrance fee.

The poor guy hasn't been consulted beforehand and takes to the stage quite shyly. Our friends have written a number of questions for the girls but eventually they allow Edvin to ask his own question as well. The desired effect is reached however; Edvin finally decides on a girl; considering he didn't know who he picked, he can't be accused of favoring one family over the other two.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

As people start leaving the tavern, many howls can be heard. The villagers know what this means; a wolf-pack is on its way. There is less than an hour to prepare and by the sounds of it, these are more wolves than they have ever faced at once.

Reb takes charge of the situation and posts any able-bodied villagers with ranged weapons at the watch tower and on roofs, supported by Arosin and Hanur. In front of the tavern, he builds a sort of funnel with boxes and barrels, meant to pull the wolves in so they won't have the advantage of superior numbers. Harpin gets a lot of crockery which he shatters to create more terrain the wolves will want to avoid.

Soon enough the wolves show up, and these are Sormark wolves, they are quite dire. In retrospect the funnel might have been a bit too wide as four wolves manage to get in and take down Reb and then Regius while Harpin is firing his magical beams from the second floor window. Two wolves are still alive and jump up the makeshift barricade and into the window, attacking the gnome.

Reb's life seems forfeit but then the Vigilant's Primer in his pocket starts to glow a reddish orange. It floats above the fighter and seems to heal some of his wounds. Our man quickly gets up and pours a healing potion down the priest's throat. They then quickly scramble up to the second floor room and together our three friends manage to dispatch the last two wolves, but not before one of them drops Harpin, who can fortunately be saved.

Outstanding Issues

• There is no one to adjudicate as none of the three families will trust any of the others.
• Nergaards keep throwing rocks in the stream cause too much water is bad for their corn (“it’s not a gods-damned rice field”) but this way everyone else gets too little.
• Ternheims run the only mill and they deliver too little cornmeal for the amount of corn milled.
• Fjotra Ternheim has started worshiping Ancev, she wants to be the new village cleric.
• Band of bugbears have set up camp not too far away about a year ago, so far they haven’t done anything but they can’t be trusted!

Fixed Issues

• Stahls run the only forge in town and deliver shoddy work at best to the others.
• Two members of the Stahl family have become very ill and no one has been able to cure them.
• Main well on village green is broken.
• Old Fingal the hermit has taken little Sigrid Ternheim’s kite.
• Valter Nergaard has gotten Anja Westergren pregnant but isn’t taking responsibility.
• Fulbjorht Stahl and Thrand Ternheim have a secret relationship.
• The bridge is only so-so.
• The watchtower is falling apart.
• Edvin Skarsgard has a problem; Silje, Fredrika, and Anna all want him.
• Wolves have been getting close, snatching some chickens. (There used to be nightly patrols around the entire village, now the three families only guard their own dwellings, other families suffer.)